Imagine a rifle. Give it a wooden stock and a scope. Think about how that would work, as an ordinary target or hunting rifle. Now, make it virtually silent, and remove the magazine so that it only holds one at a time. Remove the recoil, and make it break action, then, move the action to the mid-point of the gun beyond the stock. This is the basic description of the Ruger Air Hawk from Umarex.
During the NRA National Convention, I was able to visit the Umarex booth, which is where I saw and decided on this particular air rifle. The NRA Convention was the largest convention that I have ever been to. But, while all of the booths were quite impressive, my favorite was Umarex. They had numerous air guns on display, ranging from simple, plastic, CO2 operated pistols to the most accurate and complex rifles; it was an extraordinary sight.
The Ruger Air Hawk is an air rifle that fires at 1000 fps. It is chambered in 0.177 caliber or 4.5 mm pellets. The steel barrel length is 18.7 inches. The total length is 44.8 inches. The capacity is one, loaded directly into the barrel. The front and rear sights use a fiber optic insert for improved visibility and they are adjustable for windage and elevation. The rifle has a single dovetail mounting rail on the top, and a fixed 4x magnification scope is included. It took us a single afternoon to sight in the scope, and once sighted, it was dead center every time.
The break barrel type action has an automatic sliding tang safety, which engages upon opening of the action. The trigger weight and length of pull are 3.3 pounds and 14 inches, respectively. The cocking effort is 30 pounds. The recoil is very different from the use of an actual firearm, in that, whereas a normal rifle would straight push into the shoulder, the air gun has a bit more drawn out recoil, and it isn’t so straight back, but almost as if the rifle is moving forwards.
I have used Umarex products before, and this time, as well as every time, I was impressed. The Ruger Air Hawk is an amazing product. It was easy to operate and assemble without any problems. It’s light enough to be comfortable, but heavy enough to give the proper feel of a rifle.
Because of the rifle being break open, it does not need to be pumped, instead, the rifle receives all of the pressure needed to fire from the breaking open of the barrel. The barrel is break open by pushing down on the muzzle of the barrel. I liked this rifle because there’s no need to worry about running out of CO2 cartridges, and it is very powerful. I also liked its similarities to a normal hunting rifle; it looked like a hunting rifle with a wooden stock, rifle grip, and scope. This air rifle is perfect for people already into air guns, as well as people new to air guns, but who have experience with regular firearms. Although, because of its full size it may not be best for smaller kids.
One thousand fps is a pretty powerful air rifle. For example, we previously tested a 720 fps air gun with pellets and they penetrated both sides of a steel can. Ruger Air Hawk is not a toy and should be used with eye protection and adult supervision. It is certainly powerful enough to use for hunting small game. To learn more please visit www.umarexusa.com.
